Gang aft a-gley

Why must things get complicated, crazy, or as the saying goes "The best laid schemes o'mice an'men gang aft a-gley."-- Robert Burns
If you are wondering what "gang aft a-gley" means - it is Scottish for "go often awry." I was so looking forward to this week! My Unravelling class started yesterday with Susannah Conway and Rich, Bekah and I along with friends are going on a weekend three day cruise starting Thursday. (Which because of my guilt for not making a salary right now & going on a cruise, I have to tell you it was paid for about 8 months ago!) All of us sudden, this week hit and I got terribly sick, feverish, hot and cold, runny noise, coughing, head cold, back pain, you name it flu symptoms. Yuck... I don't have time for this and I don't want it...please go away! My plans were to wash and iron laundry to pack ahead of time for the cruise, be totally prepared, house cleaned, dogs bathed, everything done, checked off and organized... but no, here I sit miserable. I haven't been able to start my Unravelling class and getting busy with deliverables and deadlines (but for this I am grateful!!)
Can anything go as planned lately? I'm trying to stay very positive that I will feel at least 85% better tomorrow, and be able to organize for the cruise, will have my deliverables and deadlines in check and be guilt free for leaving. I will try... the guilt will probably do me in. As for my Unravelling class, thank goodness it is on my own time and schedule. I will hopefully be up for taking some pictures tomorrow.
Hope you are having a peaceful and delightful day.

Peace & Love

Friday Night Lights

It is time again for Friday night lights at Edgewater High School. I love Friday night Varsity games, especially the home games. It is so much fun to hear the band playing, the girls cheering and even the fans rumbling at the plays and calls. Tonight is the Rotary Club's BBQ at the school before the game...yummy!
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Zack Deploys

Tomorrow my son Zack leaves for his first deployment. Tonight he is on his way to San Diego, then tomorrow he boards the USS Bon Homme Richard for a seven and a half month deployment. He wants to go, he is excited about going, he is trained and ready to go. On the one hand I am happy about him going, it is what he wants to do, excited that he will see parts of the world that many of us have never and may never experience, but of course it is a deployment, not a vacation. The other side of me is nervous and anxious about him being on a ship for seven and half months, not knowing what he will be doing or really where he will be. (Not that I really know that now...but it seems different) Also knowing things are heating up in Afghanistan is a little unnerving. I wish him and his entire unit a successful deployment and a safe return home. They along with their families and everyone aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard will be in my thoughts and prayers daily.
Thank you for protecting our freedoms. Semper Fi.
I love you Zack.

I'm not sure what the event the pictures above were taken at, I found them on the Marine Corp Air Station Yuma website. Marine Attack Squadron 513 photo album. The description was "Dining Out." I did confirm with Zack that he is with the guys in his shop.

To Nourish My Soul

4 more days...I can't wait to start my "Unraveling: Ways of Seeing Myself" eCourse on September 28th with Susannah Conway. I will be going on a photo safari to reconnect with myself, where I've been and where I want to go next. Pretty cool, huh? Here is a link to Susannah's Blog, Ink on My Fingers.
A little nourishment for the soul.

S3 Integrity Puts Web Chat Customer Service Channel Under the Microscope: Asks "Has Click-to-Chat Fallen Short of Expectations?"

S3 Integrity Puts Web Chat Customer Service Channel Under the Microscope: Asks "Has Click-to-Chat Fallen Short of Expectations?"

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Oh What a Weekend

What a fabulous weekend. Friday night started with High School Football. Edgewater vs Apopka. Even though we (Edgewater) did not win, Bekah did a great job cheering and leading her team! Plus our good friends Susan and Roger came out to watch the game with us!
Saturday morning I got up with Rich and after deep contemplation I went to the Renningers' Flea Market in Mt. Dora with him. This is a weekend ritual for him, his brother, his nephew and his dad. I wasn't sure if I should intrude on their guy time but Rich was happy for me to go. I was so glad I went, what a nice time I had with the guys. It was good to spend time with our nephew and my brother in law. I just love Russ, my brother-in-law, he is such a great guy. I indulged in an egg sandwich that came highly recommended from our nephew and Russ, we walked around the flea market, I took a few photographs, and then we went to the Antique Fair, very interesting stuff. About that time we were all ready for lunch and we went for some yummy BBQ at Sugarboos in Mount Dora. I had a great time with the guys, thank you so much for letting me tag along on your guy time! Here are a few pictures I took at the Flea Market.



Saturday evening Rich and I along with friends Mike and Vicki loaded up the canoes to go see the Bioluminescent water in Mosquito Lagoon. For more information go HERE. We went to Titusville to have dinner at Dixie Crossroads, then on to Merritt Island. The Bioluminescent water is amazing! It sparkles, all the movement in the water is like fireworks of light. It is really something to see. When we first arrived, I was a little nervous I have to admit, it was soooo dark! Canoeing in the dark knowing there are animals around that you can't see can be a little scary, but once we got down the canal and into Mosquito Lagoon, the lights of the moving fish and other kayaks made me more comfortable. It was so dark! We could see the Milky Way above us, so COOL!
On the way back down the canal, we caught a glimpse of a dolphin coming up for air. Just an amazing night, I am so glad I got to experience the bioluminsents phenomena.




On our way

Merritt Island, where we launched the canoes


As for Sunday, more of a lazy day, for me anyway. Rich got up and took down our above ground pool (we never used it). The three of us Rich, Bekah and I dressed in our Steeler attire went to PR's Taco Palace for lunch. After lunch Bekah and I went to Kohl's, once home we all watched the Steeler's vs Bear's game. Disappointing ending.. Steeler's lost by 3, could not make a field goal to save their lives!
I made a chocolate lava cake to help heal the wound of the Steeler's loss! For the rest of the evening we caught up on recorded shows, ate pizza and just relaxed. Winding down, getting ready for the week ahead. Awesome weekend!

Learning To Twitter

So, if you see some odd things going on with my blog, I should tell you that I am learning all about Twitter and how I can use it with my company blog and Twitter account. I have had a personal account for sometime but I rarely use it. My company blog can be found HERE and My company twitter account can be found HERE.
As you can see, I have added the "retweet" button to my posts, I will use this for my personal account for now SAVEMYSUNSHINE, but the purpose is really seeing how things work. Thanks! Happy Twittering.

"Act Like an Optimist, Improve your health"

I finally went to the dentist today. I don't know why it takes me so long to go. I typically do not have any issues and I really like my dentist and the dental hygienists, but for whatever reason, I am always late, late, late for getting my six month cleaning. I vow to do better. While I was at the dentist today I took a sneak peak at an article in Redbook called "Act Like an Optimist, Improve Your Health" - the title caught my eye as I am an optimist and always looking for validation that I am somewhat healthy! Actually, as a family we really have been working at eating better and exercising. I even did my first wheat grass shot this weekend. (It wasn't bad) But now I digress so back to the article. I did not have an opportunity to read the entire article at the dentist office, no wait time, but I found it online when I got home. I love the first line..."First let's be clear: This is not an article about happiness." "We are not going to tell you to smile or lighten up." This article clearly defines the difference between "happiness" and "Optimism" - "happiness is an emotion, a feeling, whereas Optimism is a BELIEF about the future." Don't you love that!

In the article there is reference to an online survey you can take to see your optimisim score. Why not, I took the survey. You can too, take it HERE.
My results were.... Score= 28; 30 is the highest score possible on the Optimistic side. I told you I was optimistic.

"Your score indicates that you are highly optimistic. People who are highly optimistic are generally very happy and satisfied with their lives, highly committed to their goals and likely to accomplish them, and have a history of success in achieving their prior goals. They tend to pay more attention to the positive than the negative aspects of their environments. Sometimes, people who are highly optimistic put so much energy toward their goals that they might be prone to wearing themselves down physically."

The categories of the article are:
A really good overview, Set and Pursue Goals, Be Persistent, Tackle problems head on, Change your perspective, Imagine the worst and Put it in writing.

There has been a time or two when my optimism got me into trouble. I tend to think so positively about the future or future events that I forget some of the negative things that happened in the past. Sometimes that isn't so good as I have fallen prey to negative events by a person that was hurtful more than once when I should have known better than to open myself up or try to build a relationship. In this case, optimism put me at risk to be hurt again. However, I will ALWAYS take being optimistic over being pessimistic anytime and I will deal with the rare, very rare issues if they come up.

I encourage you to read the article, it is a good one! Click on the title of this blog post, it should take you to the Redbook article.
The picture is from this past Saturday 9/12/09. My husband of 22 years (as of 9/12/09... Happy anniversary to us!) ran a 5K with our daughter. They both did fantastic and I couldn't be more proud. When Rich started doing 5Ks about a year ago, his time was 44 minutes, Saturday he finished in 31 minutes! and the first half of the year I think he only did one maybe 2 races, he has really increased his participation in 5Ks and running in general in the last 6 months. WOW! He had to have been optimistic about the future of running or why keep pushing?

Happy Monday! (almost Tuesday)

Peace & Love

The American Cancer Society

My Making Strides Page
The Edgewater High School Cheerleaders will be walking in the Making Strides walk for Cancer on October 31st. Our goal is to raise $500.00, if you would like to join our team by walking or by donating, please check on "My Making Strides Page" above to join the team! Thank you.

Peace & Love

S3 Integrity Launches the WuLi Solution

I know this is a bit risky while we are in Mercury Retrograde to launch a communication piece, but we are that confident in our product and services! Thank you to all our cheerleaders, friends, family, neighbors and associates that are supporting us! Here is our latest press release on PR Web. Check it out, pass it on, talk it up, schedule a demo! Thank you again for your unyielding support!

Trying to Survive Mercury Retrograde

So I'm hearing that people had a hard time sleeping last light, me being one of them. I also saw a few comments on Facebook and blogs about insomnia last night. One person posted that it must have been the Mercury Retrograde. Not being familiar with the Mercury Retrograde, I had to check it out. Oh my goodness! It also helps explain a mis-communication that took place yesterday and some of the sensitivity around it. Here is an article straight from Galadarling.com that I found fascinating! Picture by Jinq Zhou found HERE

"Oh, Mercury retrograde. You are here. You have arrived on our collective doorsteps in all your messy glory. You are our dreaded but regular house-guest. You stagger in the door, kick over our furniture, leave crumbs all over the couch & hog the bathroom. Then, as quickly as you appeared, you disappear again, leaving us slightly stunned but much better equipped to continue with our own lives.

Okay, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, here we go. The planets are swinging around at all times, & their movements affect us all in different ways. All planets go retrograde, but Mercury’s journey seems to impact people much more than any other.

Why is that? It’s because Mercury rules communication, clear thinking, truth & travel, so when it goes retrograde — which means that it looks like it’s going backwards in the sky — all those things go backwards. They start to get ugly & tangle up. Mercury isn’t really going backwards, it’s just hanging out by the sun, but from Earth, that makes it look like it’s in reverse. It typically runs for a few weeks.

In 2009, Mercury is in retrograde from…
January 11th to February 1st
May 8th to May 30th
September 8th to September 29th
December 27th to January 15th (2010)

What happens when Mercury goes retrograde? All sorts of things. It’s like everyone you know has suddenly gone mad. You might find yourself getting into bizarre arguments about nothing at all, being unable to finish sentences or barely even able to form a coherent thought. Your computer & other electronic equipment is more likely to go on the fritz. You could experience travel delays, too. Double-check your flights & take a book with you to keep you occupied while you wait for the train! We don’t tend to get all the information we need at this time, so it can be hard to make big decisions & it’s not always the best time to sign a contract, either.

Expect to hear super-loud complaining from your friends who are Gemini or Virgo, since both are ruled by Mercury. Mercury also rules a lot of industries like publishing, writing, editing, advertising, sales, public relations & anything to do with transport, like airlines, the post office & cabs! This means it can be particularly rough for Gemini train conductors & Virgo magazine editors, so be kind to any you know!

I often find that Mercury retrograde makes me want to go into hermit mode. I feel like half my brain is missing so I’m really not that interested in interacting with anyone, plus every conversation seems to go in an unusual, confusing direction. I feel much more irritable & frustrated & things just don’t seem to go how I want them to.

So that’s the bad news. Mercury retrograde can be a total kick in the teeth for those of us who normally pride ourselves on having our karmic shit together! The GOOD news is that Mercury retrograde provides us with lots of beautiful opportunities if we can just tilt our head & squint.

Mercury retrograde wants us to move back spiritually. It is providing us with a chance to re-examine various areas of our life which may need a little more work, so that we can move forward to a bright new dawn. Now, more than ever, the time is right to look at things with clear eyes. Delicious, fresh perspectives are revealed. We often have major breakthroughs — intellectual, emotional or spiritual — during this time.

It’s also a terrific period in which to tie up loose ends. So many of us have unfinished projects. Maybe that door just needs another lick of paint, or you’ll decide to put away your ex-boyfriend’s love letters once & for all. Having said that, this is also a time where it’s very common for old lovers, friends & acquaintances to get in touch! If you hear from someone from your past, get together with them & see what eventuates!

One of the best ways to cope with it — as with anything, really — is to just “go with the flow”. When you fight Mercury retrograde, that’s when life gets really ugly. Just take some time, go slowly, be careful, don’t freak yourself out by expecting to be uber-productive-perfect right now. Be good to yourself & the people around you, now more than ever!

A quick & dirty cheat’s guide to surviving Mercury retrograde!
(Print it off & stick it in your diary or on your wall!)

Be sure not to take things too personally. People will often say offensive things they didn’t mean around this time, because their thinking is clouded! If your best friend suddenly became the most insensitive person in the world, give her the benefit of the doubt.

Back up your data!

Take things with “a grain of salt”. Everyone is a bit confused, & people are much more inclined to change their mind once Mercury goes direct. Mercury can be a bit of a trickster — could it be that the next few weeks are a big karmic joke?!

Read the small print on any contracts. Ask lots of questions. Obviously you can’t put your life on hand just because of some silly planet, but adapt your lifestyle a bit so that things run more smoothly. Communication is a bit of a mess right now & so is thought, but do your best to get as much information as you can.

Finish things you started a while ago. Home improvement projects? Wardrobe re-organizations? Short stories? Love affairs?! This is an excellent time to tie up loose ends & file things away forever.

Get together with old friends, reminisce & laugh!

Double-check any information you’re given, especially as relates to travel arrangements! During the last Mercury retrograde, I actually caught a cab to the wrong airport! Check times, delays, baggage allowances, reservations, everything.

Allow Mercury to nudge you in unusual directions. If you seem to find yourself “back to the future”, don’t just try to wriggle out of it — look at what the universe is trying to show you. This is a fantastic time to re-examine, accept & move on.

Use what you’ve learned from the past to create a dazzling new vision so that you’re ready to blast ahead when Mercury goes direct!
Fingers crossed for the next few weeks!"

Pretty spot on to what I'm feeling and experiencing...
The universe is pretty darn powerful, we should take note and listen!

Peace & Love

How special is 09/09/09?

That is what I was looking for via the wide world web, how special is the date 09/09/09? You can Google yourself to find the same articles about the math and science of the date I won't repeat that here, but I do want to tell you about a site I stumbled across that I found was worthy of repeating as it relates to 09/09/09. Out of all the information about 090909 this one grabbed my attention the most. "090909 is meant as a culmination, a day where we collectively show each other that a loving and caring world is realistic. So check this one out.
Welcome to the World Day of Interconnectedness! What a great reminder. I would love to think I live my life this way everyday but the reality is, I don't. I think about these things and I do put into practice many on this list, but there are still those that I could do better at and those that I would like to think I do but I don't. I personally need to put the awareness into practice, make it a daily action.

Here are a few ways of practicing Interconnectedness: Please go to the Welcome to the World of Interconnectedness website for more examples.

Ecological Sustainability
Being careful using water, energy, and food
Connecting with nature
Practicing sufficiency
Eating vegetarian more often
Considering trees as treasures instead of resources
Buying locally grown food
Recognize our purpose in life
Being the Change

Social justice
Voting on political party that actively supports social justice
Working as a volunteer
Supporting good causes financially
Buying fair trade products

Acting with integrity
Creating job experience opportunities regardless of formal education
Considering people as treasures instead of resources
Listening with the heart
Everyone to realize their fullest potential
Living in Love, Joy and Peace
Letting your choices demonstrate your care for others

(Spiritual) Fulfillment
Giving without expecting something back
Practicing forgiveness silently
Seeing destructive behavior as a call for love
Respond to destructive behavior with love
Helping people to reconnect
Speaking and listening from the heart
Being of service
Being kind to yourself and others
Helping to bring world peace by practicing forgiveness yourself and sharing the experience with others
Asking for guidance
Being aware that anger is never justified
Choosing to act from love instead of fear
Changing your own mind instead of trying to change others
Seeing everything in the world as either an expression of love or a call for love
Creating instead of reacting
Allowing the feelings and beliefs of others
Giving up judging
Meditating
Enjoying inner silence
Inspiring others to be and see Love
Moving from blame to forgiveness
Embracing reality as a consequence and a mirror of your own judgment

Let's make 090909 a positive day we will never forget.

New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2010

Not that I am wishing that this year will go by any faster, because I am absolutely not! Being Bekah's last year in High School I want this year to last, I want to enjoy every moment! There are of course a few things I am excited about for 2010. One being attending Bekah's graduation and seeing her spread her wings as she leaves to attend college, two being that Zack will return from deployment in April, three of course is that S3 Integrity will be wildly successful and then there's the New Orleans Jazz Festival that will take place in New Orleans between the dates of April 23rd and May 2, 2010. Yep, that's on my list!

A friend of ours brought up the New Orleans Jazz Festival the other night at dinner, she was already thinking about it! So shall I... adding to the calendar, can't wait to go. Would love to get a big group of friends to go with us. I have always wanted to attend this music festival and I hope this will be the year. I thrive to be around creative, interesting, talented, free-spirited, accepting people and I LOVE music! All kinds... and eating a beignet or two is another good reason to go.
So, I'm planning, have a goal and will add to my too do list again for 2010!

Isn't this a cool owl? I took this picture at the House of Blues Orlando. Art is all around us we just have to open our eyes and hearts to see it.

Peace & Love

Fall is on it's way...

...soon and I hope the (Fall) weather will follow! Today's Labor day (well yesterday seeing as it is 12:41 AM on September 8th) Labor Day signifies the end of Summer. School started two weeks ago, HS football season is in full swing and Pittsburgh Steelers play this Thursday, all signs point to Fall is coming soon! Fall is my FAVORITE time of the year. Last year this time I was in Kentucky. The Summer and Fall there is just beautiful. Spending time in Indiana and Kentucky really made me appreciate the change in seasons, how the green seems so much greener when everything dies in the Winter. I LOVE the Fall season and everything about it where ever I am. I took this picture last year. I am standing on the Indiana side of the Ohio river, looking towards the Kentucky side under an old railroad crossing. Beautiful.

My Best Friend

These last couple of weeks have been a bundle of emotion. Excitement, frustration, joy, anger, disappointment and lots of love. I won't go into what brought this on, but I can say that I broke out in hives for the first time in my entire life, but enough about that. There is one person that I can always count on, that is my wonderful, magnificent, handsome husband. He truly is my best friend and embodies everything a best friend should. I am such a lucky girl. I'm not saying we don't have our disagreements, but there is unconditional love and we work through it, hopefully learn something from it and come out stronger on the other side. He has been there for me everyday, he has been especially supportive since left my paying job. He is interested in what I am doing, gives me encouragement and wants nothing more for me than to be happy. He loves me for me! We continue to grow together and as individuals. I could not have asked for a better friend, he is the LOVE of my life. Next Saturday is our 22nd wedding anniversary, wow! I'm looking forward to the next 22 years. I love my life, my children and my amazing husband, my best friend.

Peace & Love

I want to Remember

I want to remember how we laughed at the dinner table.
I want to remember how we danced in our living room.
I want to remember how we shared opinions, thoughts and ideas.
I want to remember how we acted silly most of the time.
I want to remember how we disagreed and then made up.
I want to remember how we explored and discovered through family vacations and weekend excursions.
I want to remember most is how we loved each unconditionally.
...Remembering every moment, every detail of the lives of the most important people in the world to me, my family.

Peace & Love

A Jazzy Saturday with a German Twist

What a nice Saturday. Bekah and I slept in a little, Zack slept in a lot. Early morning Rich went to the Renningers to meet his father and brother. Bekah and I got up and we went to Ulta, we started out at Winter Park Village, but got a call from Rich he was going to meet us, he thought we were at the mall. So we drove up to the Altamonte Mall to meet Rich. We did a little shopping at Ulta, then we had lunch at the Ale House. This was only after we walked around the outside of the mall, around the movie theater, across the street to what used to be Gina's on the Water. We found out that it had turned into an Italian restaurant, I was not in the mood for Italian. So, we walked back across the street, around the movie theater back to the mall parking lot where Bekah's car was parked along side of Rich's Harley. We then drove to the Ale House (on the opposite side of the parking lot). Had a nice lunch, the three of us. Zack was still sleeping. We took him back something to eat.
The plan for today was that the four of us would go see Uncle Rich play in Sanford. The Jordan Walker Jazz Band were performing in Historic Downtown Sanford at the square. Unfortunately, Bekah started to feel bad, she laid down to take a quick nap. She decided she could not go, then Zack decided he was not going to go. So Rich and I went without them. We had a nice afternoon. The venue was great, and the band was terrific. I like when Uncle Rich is playing with a big band, all the horns, congas, keyboard, drums, etc. The music was great. Later, friends who live close by met us for dinner. We ate at the Willow Tree Cafe, a German restaurant in downtown Sanford. I had my first Schnitzel! It was called Schnitzel Champignon Art, it was a chicken schnitzel with sautéed mushrooms and Rahm Sauce. Very enjoyable! It was a nice enjoyable evening, although the kids decided not to go, we enjoyed each others company as we always do and the company of our friends, Jeff, Shannon and their 2 year old son Weston. Happy Saturday.

Four Dinner Plates Tonight

Bekah said tonight when setting the table..."I like it when I have to get 4 plates out instead of 3, it makes me happy." We are all enjoying Zack being home. We had a fun spagetti dinner tonight, fun because we were all joking around and laughing at the dinner table. The food was good, the company was great.
After dinner we did a little dancing in the living room, cleaned up the kitchen, watched a couple funny things on You Tube and settled in the for the evening. Perfect.

Kelly Rae Roberts

Love my new Kelly Rae Roberts canvases! Just love them, love the femininity, the colors, the messages, they inspire me.
The larger one on the left reads:
"The whispers of our lives want us to take notice. They may just be whispers, small voices tucked deep inside the pockets of our hearts, but we must hold their possibilities close to our chests and allow them to step into the light."
The one on the top right corner reads: "unbroken wings discovered" and the one on the bottom right side reads: "Seeker".
Check out Kelly's portfolio and everything on her website, her work and her words inspire me.

Peace & Love

"I Will Not Die an Unlived Life"

I saw this book title, actually in a picture on Susannah Conway's website. It intriged me. So I went searching... found this verse from the book and I found it inspiring. The author is Dawna Markova.

“I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid, more accessible,

to loosen my heart until it becomes

a wing, a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;

to live so that which comes to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom

and that which comes to me as blossom,

goes on as fruit.”

I'll have to check this book out further. The picture is of Bekah and I in the lobby of the hotel in NYC taking pictures of ourselves trying to get us and the chandiler in the shot. We took some crazy pictures in that lobby!

"Unraveling... ways of seeing myself"

I am working on a very large document and needed to take a break from writing requirements... so here I am, writing in my blog! I am very very excited about a class I signed up for called "Unraveling...ways of seeing myself" it is an e-course designed to help people heal the way you see your self and your world, using photography and journaling to access hidden thoughts and dreams, encouraging personal realisations and ultimately acceptance. To read more about Susannah Conway and the programs she offers along with her blog, go here. During the eight week program, there will be weekly photo assignments, twice weekly writing assignments, video's and a private discussion forum with classmates. I'm nervous and excited! and although I don't feel that I need to be "healed" in the literal terms, I do feel that learning and discovery are so important for growth. I want to keep growing and I'm ready to spread my wings that much more! I have been in the corporate world for so long, I want to rediscover the artist in me... I have been dabbling, but I am ready to thrust into that world. (Which is one of the reasons I got the tattoo of the Tree of Life on my wrist, visible for me to see and the world to see everyday, a consistent reminder that I don't want to go back to a conservative, stodgy, judgmental corporate environment ever again!) What will be interesting is if my self discovery path shows me something other than what I think I want. September 28th, can't come soon enough.

Peace & Love